艾德·希蘭：天生我材必有用

By+Dana+Marie+Krook

Ed Sheeran's song， "You Need Me， I Don't Need You"， spouts1） the lyric， "See， I'm true； my songs are where my heart is." But for Ed， it's not just a lyric； it's the truth.

While other artists may immediately step out into the middle of the stage looking for that spotlight to hit them， Ed is the type of musician content with letting his music fill the room with its powerful melody and message， while he's tucked2） in the corner， out of sight， living in the moment. "I think if I was trying to get a record deal and trying to get noticed， I would have got discouraged， but I was just kind of playing anywhere and everywhere，" he says about first starting out. "I was trying to become the best I could be as a live performer. It was all about experience."

His album + has already been a huge success， going four times platinum3） in the UK and gold in Canada. With singles like "The A Team"， "You Need Me， I Don't Need You"， and "Lego House"， Ed has won over the hearts of fans all over the world. Even those who seemed to have eyes only for4） fellow UK residents One Direction took notice when he appeared in their album credits5） for the song "Moments". He also worked with Taylor Swift， co-writing a song for her record earlier this year， after learning that she had been a fan for some time. And he had the world's attention on stage at the closing ceremonies for the 2012 Olympic Games in London when he performed Pink Floyd's6） "Wish You Were Here".

In order to fully appreciate his present successes—and what are sure to be future achievements—you have to take a look back at where it all started.

Ed Sheeran grew up in Suffolk， which is a mostly rural area to the northeast of London. He first picked up a guitar around age 11 and learned to beat box7） by imitating YouTube videos. Then， at 16， he decided to drop out of school and move to London on his own to pursue his dreams of becoming a musician. "It was the choice between staying in school， going to university and trying to get a job， or dropping out and seeing if the music thing would work，" Ed says. "From the age of 16， I had to take it very seriously because it was the only thing that I was doing at that time."

Preferring an educational route of trial and error， Ed set out to produce his own music， sell independent EPs8） and book his own gigs9）—all "without any money or any contacts". He looked to British musician James Morrison10） as an inspiration of someone who earned his success one show at a time. "He played loads of shows； that's how it worked for him，" Ed says.

Exceeding the number of shows his role model racked up11）， at one point， Ed had performed over 300 shows in one year alone. But his risky move paid off12）. "I think people work well under pressure，" he says， thinking about his decision to go in13）， all or nothing. "I didn't have confidence， but you work on that and get more confident as it goes on."

While signing a record deal was a major accomplishment for Ed， it wasn't his main goal during his early days. "My main kind of focus wasn't to become a worldwide superstar； it was just to get my music [out there] and build a fan base."

And that's exactly what he did. Before his commercial success， Ed released an EP called No. 5 Collaborations Project which included his work with some underground UK rappers. Without radio play， television promotion or a label14）， the EP shot to number two on iTunes. "That was the time where I realized that the fan base was quite extensive，" says Ed.

It was only a few months after the release of that EP that Ed found himself signing with Atlantic Records. His first single， capturing him even more attention， was "The A Team"—a ballad15） with a dark and powerful message about the cyclical nature of drug addiction. "I did a gig in a homeless shelter. It was written about one of the women that I met there： her journey and her story，" says Ed. "I was 18 at the time. I had only lived in London for two years， so I had never seen the dark underbelly16） of it and obviously there are quite dark， disturbing elements to every major city， and I witnessed quite a few of them that day."

Now， his first full album + has been out for a while， yet Ed maintains that its success hasn't added to the pressure he feels to continue making great music and touring the world. "It puts more pressure on my label，" he says. "I'm good because I know I'm always going to make music."

But he is looking to constantly improve his art， and a part of that is increasing the number of people who are exposed to it. "I look at other musicians that are in the same vein17） as me and wonder why I'm not doing as well and work to do as well. My benchmark18） at the moment is someone like Adele19）， who is just a phenomenon，" Ed says. "If I didn't sell as many records as Adele， I'm not going to cry about it， but if I sell half as many， I'll be happy."

Though he still looks up to other musicians as role models， Ed is now a source of inspiration for millions. Yet， despite his fame， Ed still remains true to himself： singing his truth through music and living in the moment， appreciating every part of the process.

During his show in Toronto， at the beginning of his first headlining20） tour in Canada， he couldn't get over21） the size of the crowd that had gathered to watch him play. He repeated his humble gratitude many times throughout the night to responses of screaming and then complete silence as his fans quieted down to soak up the slower ballads.

"It's quite a shock to adjust to having people looking up to you，" Ed says. "The most important thing to do in any situation is to be yourself. No one can do you better than you， so be happy about it and realize that you're individually important."

艾德·希蘭的歌曲《你需要我，我不需要你》中重復(fù)著這樣一句歌詞：“瞧，我很真誠，我的歌聲就是我的心聲?！钡珜Π聛碚f，這不只是一句歌詞，更是他信奉的真理。

其他的歌手可能會迅速走到舞臺中央，追尋著打在他們身上的聚光燈，而艾德卻愿意任由他那旋律動聽、歌詞動人的音樂充滿整個場地，自己則躲在無人注意的角落，陶醉在當(dāng)下——他就是這樣的音樂人。談到最初的演唱生涯，艾德說：“我覺得如果我當(dāng)時只是努力想得到一份簽約，只想著要引人注目，我恐怕早就泄氣了?？晌夷菚r就只是四處去唱歌，每次都盡力發(fā)揮出自己現(xiàn)場表演的最佳水平，就想積累經(jīng)驗?！?/p>

艾德的專輯《+》已經(jīng)大獲成功，在英國的銷量突破120萬張（編注：此為2012年本文發(fā)表時的數(shù)據(jù)），在加拿大的銷量也達(dá)到了四萬張。憑借《一流貨色》《你需要我，我不需要你》和《積木房子》等單曲，艾德贏得了世界各地歌迷們的喜愛。當(dāng)艾德因參與《時時刻刻》這首歌的創(chuàng)作而出現(xiàn)在單向樂隊專輯的創(chuàng)作人員名單中時，就連那些眼里似乎只有單向樂隊的歌迷也注意到了艾德——單向樂隊與他同為英國本土歌手。艾德還與泰勒·斯威夫特合作過，在他得知斯威夫特曾經(jīng)有段時間是他的粉絲之后，他于今年年初（編注：指2012年）與斯威夫特合作為她的專輯寫了一首歌（編注：指斯威夫特專輯《Red》中“Everything Has Changed”這首歌）。2012年倫敦奧運會閉幕式上，艾德獻(xiàn)上了一曲平克·弗洛伊德樂隊的《愿你在此》，令世界矚目。

為了全面認(rèn)識艾德目前的成功以及他將來必會迎來的更大成就，我們很有必要回顧一下他的成名之路。

艾德·希蘭在位于倫敦東北邊的薩福克郡長大，那里的大部分地方都是鄉(xiāng)村。大約11歲時，艾德第一次拿起吉他，并開始跟著YouTube網(wǎng)站上的視頻模仿學(xué)習(xí)嘻哈音樂中的口技。之后在16歲那年，艾德決定退學(xué)，只身前往倫敦追逐他的音樂夢?！爱?dāng)時我有兩個選擇：要么繼續(xù)讀書，考上大學(xué)，然后找份工作；要么退學(xué)去唱歌，看看音樂這條路是否走得通，”艾德說，“從16歲起，我就不得不非常認(rèn)真地對待唱歌這件事，因為這是我當(dāng)時唯一在做的事情?！?/p>

艾德更傾向于選擇“不斷嘗試，不怕犯錯”的成長路線，于是開始創(chuàng)作自己的音樂，出售個人錄制的迷你專輯，并預(yù)約自己的演唱會——所有這些“沒賺到一分錢，也沒任何人聯(lián)系他”。艾德將憑借一場場演唱最終獲得成功的英國歌手詹姆斯·莫里森視為自己的勵志偶像。“他唱過很多很多場，就這樣唱出了名頭。”艾德說。

艾德一度在僅僅一年內(nèi)（編注：指2009年）就唱了三百多場，這一數(shù)值已經(jīng)超過他的榜樣詹姆斯·莫里森的全部演唱場數(shù)。不過艾德的這一冒險舉動最終有了回報。“我覺得人在壓力下會做得更好，”憶起當(dāng)初決定孤注一擲搏一回時，艾德說，“我當(dāng)時并沒有信心，但如果你努力去做這件事，隨著事情的進(jìn)展，你就會越來越有信心。”

盡管對艾德來說，簽約唱片公司是一項重大成就，但這并不是他早期的主要目標(biāo)?！拔夷菚r的主要奮斗目標(biāo)不是成為一名國際巨星，而是讓世人聽到我的歌聲，建立起自己的粉絲群?！?/p>

艾德確實是這么做的。在獲得商業(yè)成功之前，艾德曾發(fā)布過一張名為《第五合作項目》的迷你專輯，其中收錄了他與英國一些地下說唱歌手合作的曲目。這張專輯沒有借助電臺播放、電視宣傳或唱片公司就一躍成為蘋果在線商店熱門專輯第二名?！澳菚r我才知道，我的粉絲群已經(jīng)相當(dāng)龐大了?！卑抡f。

這張專輯推出沒幾個月，艾德就正式簽約了大西洋唱片公司。他的首支單曲《一流貨色》讓他更加備受矚目。這首流行抒情歌曲講述了吸毒成癮帶來的惡性循環(huán)，內(nèi)容陰暗而又撼動人心?！拔以?jīng)在一個收容所做過一次演出，這首歌寫的是我在那里遇到的其中一個女人的經(jīng)歷和故事，”艾德說，“當(dāng)時我18歲，在倫敦才待了兩年，還從未見過這個城市陰暗的一面。很顯然，每一座大城市都有陰暗、丑陋的方面，那天我就親眼目睹了不少?！?/p>

如今，艾德的首張正式專輯《+》已經(jīng)問世多日，不過艾德一再表示，盡管他為了繼續(xù)創(chuàng)作優(yōu)秀音樂及進(jìn)行世界巡回演出感到了一些壓力，但這張專輯的成功并未讓他覺得壓力加重?！拔业某镜故且虼藟毫Ρ对觯卑抡f，“我還好，因為我知道我會一直不停地創(chuàng)作音樂?！?/p>

不過，艾德目前正在不斷努力把自己的音樂做得更好，其中一個任務(wù)就是讓更多的人聽到他的音樂。“我會參照跟我風(fēng)格相同的其他歌手，琢磨為什么我做得沒有他們好，然后努力趕上去。我目前的參照標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是像阿黛爾這樣的人，她簡直就是一個奇跡，”艾德說，“要是我的唱片賣得沒阿黛爾多，我不會傷心落淚；但我的唱片若能賣到她唱片的一半，我就會很開心?！?

雖然艾德仍舊把其他歌手當(dāng)榜樣，但他自己現(xiàn)在也已是百萬大眾的勵志偶像。不過，盡管他名氣不小，他仍然保持著本真：用音樂歌唱自己信奉的真理，活在當(dāng)下，享受每個過程。

在加拿大多倫多，艾德舉辦了他的第一場備受關(guān)注的個人巡演，前來觀看他演出的觀眾規(guī)模讓他感到震驚。整個晚上，歌迷們不時發(fā)出一陣尖叫，繼而又因安靜下來沉浸于他那舒緩的歌聲中而變得悄然無聲，對于歌迷的這些反應(yīng)，艾德多次謙恭地表達(dá)了自己的謝意。

“突然要習(xí)慣被人崇拜，讓我十分震驚，”艾德說，“不管在什么情況下，最重要的是要做好自己。沒有人會比你更擅長做你自己，因此要對這樣的事實感到欣喜，也要明白你作為一個個體很重要?！?/p>

1. spout [spa?t] vt. <口>滔滔不絕地講；喋喋不休地說

2. tuck [t?k] vt. 把……藏入

3. platinum [?pl?t?n?m] adj. 白金唱片獎的。唱片銷量在美國超過100萬張為白金唱片，在英國超過30萬張為白金唱片，在加拿大超過八萬張為白金唱片，超過四萬張為金唱片。

4. have eyes only for： 僅對……感興趣

5. credit [?kred?t] n. [常作～s] （電影或電視等的）片頭（或片尾）字幕，攝制人員名單

6. Pink Floyd： 指英國搖滾樂隊平克·弗洛伊德，于1965年成立，秉承迷幻搖滾（Psychedelic Rock）和前衛(wèi)搖滾（Progressive Rock）風(fēng)格，是流行音樂史上從商業(yè)角度最為成功的樂隊之一，有極大的影響力。

7. beat box： 指用嘴唇、牙齒、舌頭、口腔和喉嚨來模仿鼓聲、打出節(jié)奏、發(fā)出曲調(diào)的一種新型藝術(shù)，是口技的一種形式，通常與嘻哈音樂（hip-hop）文化息息相關(guān)，是嘻哈音樂的重要元素之一。

8. EP： （= Extended Play）以前指慢速唱片，現(xiàn)在指容量介于單曲專輯和大專輯之間的迷你專輯，一般每張包含4～5首歌。

9. gig [ɡ?ɡ] n. （爵士樂隊、搖滾樂隊、獨奏或獨唱演員等的）特約演奏

10. James Morrison： 詹姆斯·莫里森（1984～），英國歌手，經(jīng)過多年演唱其他歌手歌曲的生涯后最終成名，2007年獲得全英音樂獎最佳男歌手獎。

11. rack up： <俚>累積取得

12. pay off： <口>贏利；得到好結(jié)果；取得成功

13. go in： 參與

14. label [?le?bl] n. 唱片公司

15. ballad [?b?l?d] n. （節(jié)奏緩慢的）流行抒情歌曲；情歌

16. underbelly [??nd?beli] n. 薄弱部分，弱點

17. in the same vein： （說話或?qū)懽鳎╋L(fēng)格相同的

18. benchmark [?bent?mɑ?k] n. 基準(zhǔn)，基準(zhǔn)尺度

19. Adele： 阿黛爾（1988～），英國著名女歌手，榮獲音樂獎項無數(shù)，包括八項格萊美獎。其于2011年發(fā)行的第二張專輯《21》在全球銷量已超過2600萬張。

20. headline [?hedla?n] vi. 成為注意中心；當(dāng)主角

21. couldn't get over： 震驚于，因……極為驚訝

譯 / 兩袖清風(fēng)